The Doyle Monster
by Not A Droid
Summary: Sequel to "Mommy and Daddy's Love Story" and an alternate version of the Doyle story arc. Emily and Spencer tell their 3 children the story of Ian Doyle
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Chapter 1**

* * *

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even Samantha and Diane._

_A/N: So, here's the deal. As I was watching the episode "Lauren", during the scene where Morgan has Emily in his arms, a plot bunny was whispering in my ear,"he should say you have to stay here for your girls."_

_I turned to him and asked,"What girls?"_

_"Samantha Rose and Diane Elizabeth. You know, from "Mommy and Daddy's Love Story." And don't forget, you mentioned a fiance that we never got detail about. Could that be Doyle?"_

_So, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the sequel to "Mommy and Daddy's Love Story"_

* * *

In a house in Quantico,Virgina there lived the Prentiss-Reid family. The family consisted of a husband named Spencer, a wife named Emily, two girls, Samantha and Diane, and a little boy named Matthew. In many ways, they appeared to be like any other family, but they were very different.

To begin with, Emily and Spencer were heroes. Oh, all mothers and fathers are heroes in their own way, but these two were really heroes. They were FBI agents working for the Behavior Analysis Unit. This is an agency that recruits the best of the best to chase the worst of the worst. This meant the children grew up listening to different stories than most children. Oh, Spencer and Emily read to the kids stories like "Cat in the Hat" and "Ferdinand the Bull" but they also told them stories about their adventures in the BAU.

They heard about the Foyet monster, who once terrorized the city of Boston and killed Haley Hotchner. They heard about the Henkel monster, who kidnapped Spencer got him addicted to dialud. They heard about the Cyrus monster, who held them both Mommy and Daddy hostage. They heard the story of how Emily's childhood friend was killed by a vengeful priest. Just before Matthew was born, they even got to hear how their parents fell in love and became their mommy and daddy.

There was, however, one story Spencer and Emily never told their children. It was a story about a monster named Ian Doyle. It was a story that both Emily and Spencer didn't like to even think about. It was a story they never intended to tell. One night though, when little Matthew was four and his sisters were both 10, Spencer and Emily finally told the story.

It happened like this:

"Daddy," little Matthew said at dinner one evening," why don't you ever tell us about the Doyle Monster?"

Both Emily and Spencer stopped eating. Spencer's fork was part-way to his mouth.

"How did you hear about the Doyle monster, sweetie?" Emily asked, but she was looking at Samantha.

Samantha was the one who always angled for stories. She asked her parents to tell them new stories. She asked them to retell old stories, always trying to get more details. She had recently learned that her parents were more willing to tell stories if Matthew was the one who asked for them.

"I didn't do it." Samantha said. She said that a lot, ever since Matthew was born.

"Really?" Emily said, her tone was velvety, but Diane recognized the venom in it.

"It wasn't all her fault," Diane said.

"Oh?" Emily said.

"Di," Samantha hissed. "Stop helping me." Samantha steeled herself for what was going to happen next. For two years, Samantha had been trying to get her parents to tell them about the Doyle monster, ever since Aunt Penelope inadvertently mentioned him. But her parents were resolute on the subject. Not even her grandparents could change Mommy and Daddy's minds.

"We've talked about this young lady." Emily said.

"It's not Sammie's fault," Matthew said. "I heard you and Daddy talking about it with Uncle Aaron. I asked her about it. But she said you never tell the story."

"Sweetie, there are some stories aren't meant to be told."

"Maybe it's time to tell this one," Spencer said.

Emily looked at her husband. Sometimes, when he agreed to telling a story, he had a slight mischievous look on his face. Sometimes he looked like he had been defeated and worn down. This look was different, it was contemplative. It almost seemed to her like this was a question he had been going over in his mind for quite some time.

"Spencer," she said. Then she got up and went into the kitchen. This was her way signal to him that they needed to talk about whatever decision he had just made. The children knew it well.

Spencer looked at his children and said, " We'll be right back. Don't make me regret this." Then he stood up and went into the kitchen.

"Way to go Sam," Diane said in her most withering and disapproving tone.

"What? Mattie asked." Samantha said in her most innocent tone.

"I heard you two talking about it last night."

Sam scowled at her little brother.

"Didn't I do it right, Sammie?" he asked.

In the kitchen, Emily looked at her husband for several moments without speaking.

"Did you have something you wanted to say, dear?" he finally asked.

"Don't you try to charm me. Or act like I'm overreacting."

"I'm not. But we did just leave the kids alone, so..."

"Are you serious about this? Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"I think we made a decision not to keep secrets. Remember, we said we would tell the kids about everything."

"When the time was right."

"It's been almost 10 years."

"This is Hotch's fault."

"Not really."

"He was over here last week wanting us to include Doyle in the seminar. I knew we should have held firm on the rule about talking business when we're at the house, but no, you just had to talk about it with him."

"We both talked to him about a lot of things regarding that seminar. here. Look, I know this is hard for you. I know you don't want to think about it."

"It wasn't our finest moment."

"In some ways. In some ways it was our best."

"Your best maybe. I didn't act very well."

"I think you're wrong. Maybe this is something you need to talk about and come to terms with."

"No."

"Emily, remember when Matthew was born."

"You mean when you got shot and I was on bed rest? Yes, I remember. Vividly."

"I meant when I was bothered and thinking about Dad. You insisted he and I talk and try to resolve some issues. You were right to do it, and I'm right about this." He reached out for her hand and grasped it. Then he pulled her to him. "This is the right thing to do. You know it. It will be okay. Trust me."

"I do. I just don't want to do it."

"I know. But no secrets means no secrets. And maybe we've kept this one for long enough."

"Fine."

They walked back to the dining room and sat down.

"So," Spencer said, "we will tell you about the Doyle monster. But, I want to make it clear this is a privilege. That means, three children need to behave themselves while we're telling it. Understood?"

The children all nodded.

"All right. Now, you all know that your mother and I didn't always work together. There were many years your mother had adventures without me. She was part of a team that fought terrible, terrible monsters. The thing is, sometimes they had to do very hard things to catch them. Sometimes they had to pretend to like the monsters. Sometimes they to pretend they were monsters too."

"Did she have to do that with the Doyle monster?" Diane asked.

Emily nodded. "It was a very hard thing sweetie. You see, I did much more than that. I pretended to be someone else. I used a different name. I was a different person. The hardest thing of all, though, was that I pretended I loved Ian Doyle."

"What?" the words were out of Samantha's mouth before she could stop them.

"Sweetie, for a long time, Doyle and I lived like we were husband and wife."

All three children's eyes got a big as saucers. The look of shock on their faces was almost overwhelming. Spencer looked at his wife, and saw a haunted look of shame there.

"I think that's enough for now."

Samantha regained her composure first. "But Daddy!"

"No more until after supper and the three of you have bussed your plates to the kitchen."

"But Daddy!"

"Or we can just not tell the story anymore tonight."

All three children ate diligently.

* * *

_A/N: Obviously, this will be an alternate version of the Doyle saga. As always, feedback is appreciated._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

_Disclaimer: see chapter 1_

_A/N: I've been wondering how different things would be if, during the Doyle story arc, Emily had a family. _

* * *

After supper was over, the family moved to the living room. They all sat in silence for several minutes, then Emily broke the silence.

"Samantha Rose, this is the quietest you have ever been in your life. Even quieter than you were when you were inside my belly. I know you're burning with questions. Go ahead. Ask."

Samantha looked over at her father. He nodded silently.

"You said you lived with the Doyle monster like you do with Daddy?"

"No. I said I lived with him like we were husband and wife. But, I've never lived with anyone the way I do with your father. I've never felt about anyone the way I do your father. But Ian Doyle is the closest I ever came before I met your father."

"Mommy, did you love him?"

"No. But there was a time I thought I could."

"Mom!"

"Sam," Spencer said quietly, "I think we've told you before monsters aren't always all evil or bad. We call them monsters, but you know these are just people we're talking about, right?"

"But Daddy, she said she loved him."

"No she didn't," Diane said.

"Yes she did." Samantha said.

"No she didn't. She said there was a time she could have. Besides, this was before she met Daddy." Diane turned to her mother,"right?"

"Right. All of this happened before I met your father. In fact, it happened about three years before I met your father. And I never told him about any of it."

"That's not entirely true. You did tell me about Ian Doyle."

Four sets of eyes were focused on Spencer at that moment. The set that was the most surprised was Emily.

"When did I do that?"

"The first night we spent together. The night you and I took a long walk."

* * *

_March 2009_

They had been walking around for a while. Emily had been talking, and Spencer had listened. Emily had told him about her friend Matthew Benton. She told him about her abortion. About every relationship she ever had. They paused for a moment, and her hand went near her chest, where she wore the gimmel ring as a necklace.

"What is it?" Spencer asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Ever so often, I've noticed, you clutch a necklace you wear sometimes. Except, it's not a necklace is it?"

She shook her head. "No."

"What is it?"

"My engagement ring."

"You were engaged?" he sounded surprised.

"Once. A long time ago."

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were engaged. An engagement usually results in marriage, but you didn't get married. Did you?"

"Not officially. I guess we weren't really engaged. I made it clear I never wanted to marry anyone."

"Really?"

"I ..." Emily knew she had to be careful here. There was so much of that time in her life she couldn't talk about. It was a sad commentary on her life that the closest she had ever been to marriage was when she was undercover as Lauren Reynolds. "I guess I just couldn't imagine any marriage lasting. If I ever get married, I want it to be for life."

"Me too. So, he gave you a ring?"

"He did. He … wasn't a typical man and I wasn't a typical woman. So, he gave me the ring and we started living together."

"It didn't work out?"

"As it turned out, we were very different people. There was a time, if we made different choices, things might have been different."

"How so?"

"Part of his life was incompatible with having a family. But Ian wouldn't let go of it. If I had been more accepting of it, maybe things would be different."

"Don't blame yourself."

"Why not? I knew what he was. He was more forthcoming about who he was than I ever was." That part was especially true about her relationship with Ian Doyle.

"But being in a relationship, it means change and compromise." Reid said. " If both parties don't give part of themselves up, it can't work. What I mean is, it wasn't your fault it didn't work. Not if he wasn't willing to change."

"Did you read that somewhere or are you speaking from experience?"

"A little bit of both."

"Will you be offended if I say I don't believe you?"

"Not tonight."

* * *

_Present Day_

"You didn't tell me a lot. Except to say you lived with someone named Ian you considered a fiance and it didn't work out. It wasn't until it was all over that I realized you meant Doyle."

"You never told me."

"It didn't seem important."

"But I thought this was an adventure you both were on." Matthew was confused.

"It was." Emily said. "Actually, it happened after your sisters were born."

"Really?" Samantha asked.

"Yes. You see, my old team and I, we captured Doyle. Then, a few months after you two were born, one of my old bosses contacted to tell me that Doyle escaped."

* * *

_January 2011_

Emily entered the restaurant. She saw Sean McAllister immediately. He looked completely unchanged from the last time she same him seven years ago. She wondered what he wanted, because he was incredibly vague on the phone. She went over to his table and sat down.

"Hey Sean." she said as she sat down. "I'm sorry I couldn't talk before, we had a case."

"It's alright Emily. I had to be in town anyway, and I have something important I have to tell you. Ian Doyle is missing."

"Doyle." Her heart nearly stopped. It was the last case she worked on for Sean, and it was the worst.

"He escaped from Russia. INTERPOL doesn't have him. We don't know where he is."

"Am I in danger?"

"We all are."

"Sean, I have a family now. If I'm in danger, so are they. The FBI might be able to help us."

"No. You can't tell them Emily. You can't tell anyone. You know that."

"If he's coming here, my family's danger. My girls..."

"I'm sorry, Emily. I know how hard this is for you, but you can't tell anyone."

"At least let me tell my team. They can help catch Doyle. It's what we do."

"I'm sorry. I'm trying to get everyone together. Our team is only one that can know about this. We're looking for him. I'll let know how it's going."

"I can't let him hurt my family."

"Do what you have to, but you can't tell anyone about what happened."

* * *

_Present Day_

"But Mommy," Samantha said," you did tell Daddy right? And Uncle Aaron? Right?"

"No sweetie. I didn't."

"But Mommy how could you?"

"Samantha," Spencer said,"not now."

"But Daddy!" she protested.

"Samantha Rose Prentiss-Reid." he said. It was never a good sign when Daddy used her full name.

"It's okay Spencer," Emily said. "Kids, there's a reason we never told you this story before. This really isn't a story where Mom was at her best. We can either tell you the whole story or we can stop. What do you want to do?"

* * *

_A/N: It's really fun having those three as a Greek chorus_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

_Disclaimer: see chapter 1_

_A/N: I was stuck on how to begin this chapter. Fortunately, Matthew Jason helped me out._

* * *

Everyone was quiet while the kids considered Emily's question.

Samantha began to chew her nails, looking just like a miniature of her mother when she was stressed. For the first time in her life, Samantha wasn't certain if she wanted to know the rest. Never in her short life had her mother ever not shared everything with her father. At least, that's what Samantha always thought.

Diane resembled her father, her deep eyes looking haunted at some of the implications to what her mother told her about keeping secrets from Daddy. She looked like she wanted to sink inside herself. Mommy didn't keep secrets from Daddy. Not ever. Did she?

Matthew ….

Matthew with his platinum hair looked just like Declan. It was, Emily thought, some kind of joke on God's part she was sure that her precious boy so closely resembled Ian Doyle's son. It wasn't that she didn't love him beyond measure but it reminded her something the science fiction writer Spider Robinson wrote,"If a person who commits a felony is a felon and a person who performs gluttony in a glutton, then God is an iron."

Like his sisters, Matthew was shocked to hear that his mother was close to a man who wasn't Daddy. He never considered that she would hide things from Daddy. However, at the moment, he didn't let these thoughts show. He had somehow managed to inherit his parents' poker face. His deep, expressive eyes first looked at his father, who was giving Emily his most sympathetic smile. Then Matthew looked at Emily. It was those deep, expressive eyes of hers that always entranced him. He thought he recognized that look. He cocked his head to the side for a moment.

"Momma," he said,"are you sad?"

"A little."

"Why?"

"These aren't happy memories for me. The truth is, I'm not really all that proud of what I did."

Matthew walked over to his mother, climbed up onto her lap and kissed her. Then he gave her a hug and said,"it's OK Momma. I still love you."

Emily hugged him tight against her. "I love you too, little man." Tears trickled down her cheeks. Then Diane and Samantha hugged her too. Somehow Emily managed to turn her head and see Spencer there, a happier smile on his face.

He mouthed the words, "See, it'll be okay."

After several minutes, the group hug was over. The kids stayed grouped around their mother.

"Mom," Samantha said.

"Yes, dear."

"What did Doyle do? Did he come after you?"

"Eventually he would. But first all I knew was that he escaped from his prison. The truth was I was scared. I didn't know what I would do or how I could protect you two and Daddy without telling anyone the truth. I was scared your father would ask what was wrong, and I wouldn't be able to lie to him."

"Did Daddy notice?"

"No," Spencer said,"not at first. That's the part I'm not proud of. I should have noticed."

"You had your own problems." Emily said. "You see kids, it about this time that Daddy started having headaches."

Daddy had medicine he took every morning. The medicine was supposed to prevent the headaches he would get every so often, and most of the time it worked. Every once in a while though, he had a bad headache. When he had one of those, he had to wear sunglasses because even a little light would hurt his eyes. The kids knew it started a long time ago, but they didn't know when.

"But back then," Spencer said, "we didn't know what they meant. So, I kept going to a lot of doctors. So, I was a little oblivious to your mother. It wasn't until the flowers came that I knew anything was wrong."

"Flowers?" Samantha asked.

"We came back from an adventure," Emily said,"And there was a long box on the front porch, inside were beautiful blue flowers. And a note that said 'see you soon'."

"Your mother looked scared. She threw away the flowers, called the company that delivered them. Then she insisted we have a new security system put in, with video cameras. I asked her why, over and over again. All she would tell me was that she had a bad feeling about the flowers. Now I know it was because Doyle sent them."

"He sent you flowers? Mommy, did Doyle love you?" Samantha asked.

Emily shook her head. "No sweetie. Not really. I don't think he ever really loved anyone. Not even his son."

"Son?"

"Yes. He had a son. But no one ever knew it. Except me. And that's why he was coming after me. You see, he thought his son was dead and he blamed me."

"Why Mommy?"

"Do you remember I said there was a time I thought I could have loved him?"

The children nodded.

"Well, this is what happened. I pretended to be a woman named Lauren Reynolds. She was someone who sold weapons to bad people like Ian Doyle. But the reason I was doing it, was to learn everything I could about him and someone named Valhalla."

"Valhalla?" Samantha asked.

"It was a name we heard, but we didn't know who he was. He was in charge of a small army of people who killed people. We knew Ian Doyle worked for Valhalla. I had to learn from him who Valhalla was, and the way I was going to learn was to get Ian to fall in love with me."

"Mom?"

"I didn't say I loved him, only that it was how he was going to trust me. The thing was, it turned out Doyle was Valhalla. So, I went to live with him. One day I was playing with his housekeeper's son, Declan. But what I found out was it wasn't really his housekeeper's son, but Doyle's. You see, he had dangerous enemies and he knew they would threaten his son to hurt him. So, Doyle chose to keep his son a secret."

"But he told you?" Diane asked.

"For a reason. He wanted me to be Declan's mother. I told him I couldn't. Not when we lived the kind of life we did. I told him, if he wanted to leave that life I would help him. This is the big difference between him and your father. Doyle said he couldn't leave his life. He said he was a warrior who lead warriors. He said he couldn't be anything else. Your father would turn himself inside out for your three."

"Is that when you knew you wouldn't love Doyle?" Diane asked.

"Yes. And that's when I arranged for the team to come and arrest us all."

"All?"

"They came for me first. Then Doyle. Then, they made it appear I died in a car accident."

"Why?" Samantha asked.

"To make Doyle and his friends believe I was dead, so they wouldn't look for me."

"But if they thought you were dead, how did he find you?" Diane asked.

"Because someone on our team told him I wasn't."

"Why?"

"Because he was paid a lot of money to tell them all about me and the rest of the team. The flowers Doyle sent me, they were the very flower he watched me picking the day my team came to arrest us. That's when I knew they were coming for me."

"Momma, what happened to Declan?" Matthew asked.

"I made a decision to protect him from his father and his father's enemies. I made everyone believe he was dead. I arranged for Declan and Doyle's housekeeper to live in the US, and mother and son."

"Why did you do that Mom?"

"Because I thought he should have a normal life."

"Did he?"

Emily looked away for a moment. "I think so. I can't say for certain." Then she was silent for a few moments.

"Did you ever see him again?"

"No."

"Have we ever met, Mom?"

"No. All right, it will soon be time for baths. So, why don't we have a little dessert and then I will tell you how Doyle captured me."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_Disclaimer: see chapter 1_

* * *

There were many nights in the Reid-Prentiss household that dessert just meant ice cream or something store bought. Tonight, however, Emily started the oven and pulled something out of the freezer. All of her children's eyes lit up when they realized Emily was pulling out a container of chilled cookie dough, the kind that made the perfect ginger snaps.

"Can I help you put them on the sheets, Momma?" Matthew asked.

"You can all help me." Emily said.

Spencer watched as he watched Emily and his children drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto baking sheets and put them in the oven. Spencer pondered if there ever was a moment in time when he thought a scene like this would be a part of his life. He didn't think he ever did. The ironic thing was before he and Emily started dating, they had a discussion about being parents. At the time, he didn't think he would ever find a woman who would want to start a family with him.

He smiled. Back then, he also wouldn't imagine the sight of his wife and children baking cookies would give him this much pleasure. Now that he thought about it, however, it seemed to him part of the joy was knowing things could have ended very differently for him. There were two times in his life when he thought he would have his wife taken away from him.

The first time was the night the girls were born. Emily had some severe complications in labor, and he almost lost her. He didn't know what kind of a parent he could be without her to help him. The second time was when Ian Doyle had her. That was a very difficult time for him. There was a time he wished he cold forget everything about Ian Doyle. But now he knew remembering that time helped him appreciate nights like this so much.

"Spencer," Emily said. Reid looked at his wife. From the tone in her voice, he realized he must have been lost in thought for a while.

"Yes dear."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking how nice this is."

"What?"

"All of us being in the kitchen baking cookies. Especially since ..."

"Yes."

"Since things could have turned out so badly with Doyle."

"I know. Anyway, the cookies are in the oven so I guess it's time to continue the story."

The children were seated at the kitchen island, looking expectantly at their mother.

"Well," Emily said," what you need to understand is that up to this point, there was nothing to do. There was nothing definite to tell your father or anyone else. For all I knew, Doyle thought Lauren Reynolds was dead. Even if he knew she wasn't, that didn't mean he knew my real name or how to find me. Once I knew he knew I was alive and how to find me, everything changed. It meant everyone was in danger. I was in danger. Daddy was in danger. And you two were in danger."

"What about me Momma?" Matthew asked.

"You weren't even born yet," Sammie said in an irritated tone.

"Samantha," Spencer said, "be kind."

"Yes Daddy," she said in a softer tone. "Sorry, Mattie."

"Apology accepted."

Emily smiled. It was nice to see her kids able to offer and accept apologies so easily. She hoped they would always be able to do that. "As I was saying, I knew you were in danger. So, I had to do what I could to protect you. When I called my old team, and right from the beginning I realized they didn't really take Doyle seriously. That's when I knew I would have to take care of him myself."

"But what about Daddy? And Uncle Aaron?" Sammie asked. Diane and Matthew nodded in agreement.

"Remember how I said your father would turn himself inside out for you? I knew he would put himself in harms way. So would Uncle Aaron and everyone else. I couldn't let them. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to them. So, I did what I thought was the best thing to do. I was going to find Doyle. I knew he would want me. First, though, I had to make sure you would be safe. I also had to call in one favor. I had to make sure Declan was safe. I called the woman who was taking care of him, and I had them relocated again."

"Where?" Diane asked.

"Out west, far away from me. Then I had to make sure everyone would be safe here. So, I convinced Daddy to let Nana Prentiss take care of you for a few days. Keeping him safe was a little bit trickier."

* * *

_March 2011_

_Reid-Prentiss Household_

"I still don't understand why you want to send the girls to stay with your mother," Spencer said.

"She wants to spend time with them. Don't you think that's nice?"

"Emily, I'm not opposed to them spending time with her. I just don't see why we need to send them off."

"Because I need to go to Boston and you need to go to the hospital in Chicago."

"Emily, I can reschedule the Doctor's appointment. It's not a big deal."

"Oh no you don't. We are not neglecting your health. Period."

"Em, I think you're overreacting."

"Like I did after Henkel? Or you did regarding my pregnancy?"

"Emily," Reid started to say, but his wife cut him off.

"Look, you go and get your tests. I'll go and spend a few days go over cases with the INTERPOL task force. When it's over, we pick up the girls and go see your mother. It'll be great. Trust me."

The truth was he did trust her, even if there were questions he had about her behavior lately. It seemed to him something was bothering her. At this moment, though, he chose to believe if there was something wrong, she would tell him. He would later regret dismissing his concerns.

Later, Emily was in Boston. Not, like she told her husband and colleagues, meeting with INTERPOL to help them with a case. Instead she was at an outside cafe near The Black Shamrock, the bar where she first made contact with Ian Doyle. She waited for twenty-minutes before a familiar face sat down across from her.

Ian Doyle. "Hello there." he said in that soft voice of his. Sometimes that voice was seductive. Sometimes it was frightening. Tonight it was a little of each.

"I thought you weren't coming." she said. "You never made me wait this long before."

"I had to be sure you were alone. No team. Your husband isn't even here. He's at a hospital in Chicago. Your children are with your mother, guarded at the embassy."

"They're not part of this Ian," she said. "This is between you and me."

"Do you know what this is even about?"

"I know. You don't want any of them. Just me. I'm the one who took him from you. I took Declan from you. If you want your revenge, I'm here. I will give you anything you want. I can give you Lauren. You can take your revenge on me."

"What if I said I don't care at all about any of that?"

"You'd be lying. I know you've got men all over this place. You have a place all set up for this. So take me there. Have your revenge."

"No. It's too easy. You won't suffer enough." He stood up to leave.

"What if he's not dead?"

"Excuse me?" Ian had obviously never considered that his son was alive.

"What if he's alive? What if he didn't die? What if I only made everyone think he was dead?"

Ian sat down again.

"You're lying."

"Maybe. But you don't know. Take me now, and you have the chance to find out. Otherwise, I'll take you out."

"I don't think so."

"Like you never thought you would ever be caught?"

"Alright love, you win. But you may come to regret this. Because no matter what, you will not survive this."

"As long you don't hurt my family, I don't care."

_Present Day_

_Reid-Prentiss household_

The time on the oven went off. Emily took the cookies out and placed them on the cooling racks covered with was paper. Her children sat in stunned silence.

"Momma" Matthew broke the silence first. "Weren't you scared?"

Emily smiled. "Yes, I was terrified. I didn't know if I would survive. But the idea that he might hurt your father or your sisters scared me more."

"But Mom," Diane said," you were going to trade Declan's secret for us."

"Was I?" Emily asked. "All I did was suggest to him his son might be alive. I never promised to tell him anything."

"Mommy," Sam said,"it was all a trick. You just wanted the Doyle monster to take you. Why?"

"To distract him. To keep him from killing anyone else. And hope I could bring in Doyle."

"Did you?"

"Not exactly. Now, everyone have a cookie. Then it will be time for baths."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

_Disclaimer: see chapter 1_

_A/N: Remember in this universe, JJ never left. However, that doesn't mean Seaver isn't around._

* * *

_Present Day_

_Reid-Prentiss Kitchen_

Emily placed the hot ginger snap cookies on the cooling rack. She made it clear everyone was allowed _two_ cookies, then it was time for children to take baths. Only after baths would the rest of the story be told.

The girls tried to be restrained in eating their cookies, eating them slowly. Of course, it's hard to be restrained when there are cookies right from the oven in front of you. Everyone knows there are few culinary delights as magnificent as cookies right from the oven. Caught between her desire for the warm ginger snaps and her desire for knowing what happened when her mother was in the clutches of Ian  
Doyle, Samantha reverted to what she did best. She kept asking question hoping to distract the adults.

"What happened next Mommy," she asked.

"Later."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Yes."

"What did he do to you?"

"Not tonight."

"But Mom!"

"There are some things you don't need to know."

"I thought you and Daddy didn't want to keep secrets."

"How many cookies did you have?"

"What?" The question threw off Sam's rhythm.

"I believe that's your third, young lady."

"But Mom..."

"No buts Sam. Two cookies, then bath."

"Dad..."

"Oh don't look for your father to save you. Not tonight, right Spencer?"

But Spencer Reid was lost in thought. Halfway into his first cookie, he remembered every cookie Emily ever baked for him. It was such a small thing, he supposed, that almost every time he was over at Emily's when they started dating, there were always homemade cookies.

At his place there were store bought cookies, usually Oreoes, but Emily baked cookies. She had 5 different varieties of chocolate chip cookies, 3 different recipes for sugar cookies, 4 varieties of peanut butter cookies, and she never seemed to get tired of baking cookies. It made her apartment smell so nice, the lingering scent of baked cookies. She continued to bake when they got married. His life was an odd mixture of unsubs, government agents, children and baked cookies.

It took all three children and Emily saying his name over and over again for two minutes before he shook off the cascade of memories that were whirling in his mind. It was a common occurrence, for Spencer to be lost in thought. The children didn't mind, since once he snapped out of it he usually had interesting stories to tell or was especially playful.

"Daddy, " Samantha said,"can we have the rest of the story now, before baths?" She looked hopeful he would say yes.

Reid looked at Emily and saw the haunted look in her eyes. He knew she had no intention of telling her children the torture she suffered at Ian Doyle's hands. He didn't see why they would need to hear it anyway. He looked at his his children and smiled.

"Finish the story? No. Not until three children are all clean and in bed. But, I will tell one more piece of the story. I'll tell you the story of how I knew something was wrong. And, surprisingly, it has to do with freshly baked cookies."

"Excuse me?" Emily was surprised. "What do freshly baked cookies have to do with what you and the team did?"

"Well," Spencer took her hand and guided her to a chair next to Samantha at the kitchen table,"listen and I will tell you." He grabbed a cookie and sat down to Matthew. "The truth is I was thinking about cookies while I was lying in the MRI machine at the hospital in Chicago."

* * *

_March 2011_

_Chicago Hospital_

Inside the MRI machine, Spencer Reid tried to remain perfectly still. Being perfectly still was the only way to ensure that the machine would have the most clear images for the doctor's to diagnose him. He found it difficult. He knew the problem... Emily wasn't here.

So much for being a big, tough FBI agent, Spencer thought to himself. I need my wife here to be relaxed about this. Having thoughts like that usually caused Spencer to fidget, but he couldn't allow himself that luxury. So, he tried to think of things that calmed him.

The first thing to come to mind was Emily. Then his kids. Then cookies. He thought of all the cookies that Emily baked, their appearance, their texture, their smell, how their home always had the faint aroma of cookies.

Except it didn't have that aroma lately. Except that Emily hadn't been baking lately. Suddenly Spencer Reid knew, absolutely knew, something was wrong. Somehow he willed himself to be perfectly still until the MRI was done. Once he was out of the machine, he started walking back to the changing room.

"Uh, Mr. Reid, we have a few more tests to do," the nurse said.

"Not now. I have to make a few phone calls."

"Mr. Reid," the nurse began in an emphatic tone of voice, but Spencer Reid walked away and ignored her.

Once in the changing room, he grabbed his cellphone and called Emily's phone. After the third time it went to voice mail, he called JJ. "JJ. I need to have Garcia see if she can track Emily's phone."

"Spence what's wrong?"

"I don't know. But something is. Something is very wrong. I don't know where she is."

"She's at that conference in Boston."

"No she's not."

"How do you know that."

"I keep calling her phone and it keeps going to voice mail."

"She might not be able to answer it."

"JJ, trust me. Something's wrong."

JJ was trying to figure out how to calm wrong Spencer down when there was a knock on the door. It was the intern from the academy, Ashley Seaver.

"Just a minute Spence," JJ said. JJ put her hand over the receiver, "what is it Seaver?"

"Agent Jareau, I think Agent Prentiss left her phone here."

"Excuse me?"

"I kept hearing a phone ring in the bullpen, and it was coming from Agent Prentiss's desk. I ...I know I shouldn't have picked it up but..."

JJ help a finger up and started talking to Reid. "Are you still at the hospital Spence?"

"Yes?"

"Stay there. I'll have someone from the local office come get you."

"What happened?"

"Emily's phone is here. We'll be there soon."

JJ hung up the phone. She looked at Seaver. "Get everyone together in the conference room and let Garcia know Emily's phone is here and we need to see where she could be."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. But something's wrong."

JJ went into Hotch's office and said,"We've got a problem."

* * *

_Present Day_

_Reid-Prentiss Kitchen_

"So what happened next," Samantha asked.

"Oh, you mean after we knew something was wrong?" Spencer asked.

"Yes."

"Well, that's the interesting thing."

"What?"

"The only people I can tell that are children who are bathed. So, I guess it has to wait until you three are all clean."

"But Daddy!"

"Or we can wait until tomorrow."

All three children sighed. They recognized his tone of voice. Trying to get him to change his mind. Samantha looked over at her mother. Sometimes Mom could get Daddy to change his mind, but from the look on her face, Samantha knew it was hopeless.

"Fine." she said in a martyred tone. "Let's go."

She walked out of the kitchen, followed by Diane and Matthew.

Emily looked and Spencer. "Cookies?"

"What?"

"Only you could figure something was wrong based on cookies."

"I'm not the one with an addiction to baking."

"No, just a sweet tooth. You know that's the only reason I baked anything."

"What do you mean?"

"That first weekend we were together you ate almost all the cookies I had. I figured it was the best way to keep you around."

"That makes no sense."

"It makes as much sense as you realizing something was wrong because I hadn't baked cookies in a while."

"I just did what we always do, I observed behavior."

Emily smiled, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For noticing my behavior."


End file.
